Thomas Bezanson
| location = Hailfax, Nova Scotia, Canada | deathdate = | deathplace = Erie, Pennsylvania, United States | nationality = American / Canadian | field = Ceramics | training = Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Art Students League of New York, University of Ottawa | movement = | works = | patrons = | awards = }} Brother Thomas Bezanson (August 5, 1929–August 16, 2007) is an Canadian born artist primarily know for his porcelain pottery and mastery of complex glazes. Strongly influenced by Asian pottery, often adapting traditional Chinese and Japanese methods and materials to his work. Life He was born Charles Bezanson in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a descendant of Swiss and Scottish families that had been in Nova Scotia for many generations. In 1950 he graduated from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He also spent some time in New York City studying at Art Students League of New York. From 1951–58 he both worked in business and was an adviser to the Nova Scotia Handcraft Centre. He began working in pottery in 1953. In 1958–59 he traveled and studied in Europe. In 1959 he entered the Benedictine Monastery, Weston Priory, in Weston, VT. In 1968 he graduated from University of Ottawa with a Masters degree in Philosophy and a University Gold Medal. In 1976 he was a visiting lecturer at Alfred University School of Ceramics. In 1978 he traveled in Japan and to Taipei. While in Japan he met with five "Living National Treasure (Japan)" potters. In 1983 he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Since 1985 he has been the Artist-in-Residence, Mount Saint Benedict, Erie, PA. He has had hundreds of exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world. His works are in over 70 museum collections. Brother Thomas died at his home in Erie, PA on 16 August 2007. Exhibitions and Honors * National Endowment for the Arts Grant 1983 * Retrospective Exhibition Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA 1990 * Retrospective Exhibition Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 1991 Known Collections * Aidekman Art Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA * Allen Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH * Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA (note on acquisition) * Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA (http://www.artcomplex.org/) * Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL * Bellerive Museum, Zurich, Switzerland * Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Erie, PA * The Bennington Museum of Art, Bennington, VT * Bunting Institute, Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA * Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec, Canada * Canton Art Institute, Canton, OH (http://www.cantonart.org/) * Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA * Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA * Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH * The Commonwealth School, Boston, MA * Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, New York, NY * Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA * Dimock Gallery, George Washington University, Washington, DC * Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA (http://www.erieartmuseum.org/) * Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY * Fleming Museum, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT * Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA * Framingham State College, Framingham, MA * Gardiner Museum of Ceramics, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield, MA (http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/museums/art/) * Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan * International Museum of Ceramics, Faenza, Italy * Kennedy Museum of American Art, Ohio University, Miami, OH * Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA * The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY * Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN * The Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred, Alfred, NY * Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (note on acquisition) * Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA * Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA * Musee Bernard Palissy, France * Neuestadt Museum, Landsberg Am Lech, Germany * Newark Museum, Newark, NJ * Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ * Portland Museum of Art Portland, ME * Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC * Roberson Museum and Science Center, Binghamton, NY * The Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA * Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA * St. Edmunds College, Cambridge, England * St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York * Smithsonian American Art Museum (Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum) * Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel * The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa, Israel * University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA * Vatican Collection, Rome, Italy * Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England * Windsor Castle, Windsor, England * Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA (note on acquisition) * Yale University, New Haven, CT Bibliography * "Ceramics of Weston Priory/Brother Thomas" by Thomas, Brother, O.S.B.; Henning, Robert, Jr. (Curated By) Publisher: George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield, MA. Date Published: 1980 Exhibition Catalogue. 79 pp., illus. (some col. ); 23 cm. Exhibition held at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield, Massachusetts, June 1-September 7, 1980. * "The Path to the Beautiful" Published in Boston by David R. Godine Publishers (http://godine.com/) 1988 ISBN 087293699X * Biographical Film: "Gifts From the Fire", Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1991 (New York Times Movie Review) * "Gifts From the Fire". Published in Boston by Pucker Gallery, 1993 * "Creation out of Clay". Published in Boston by Pucker Gallery, 1999 * "This is the Day: Work and Words of Brother Thomas". Syracuse University Press, 978-0-8028-6312-6, 2007 Quotes "Art is meant to open the human heart to truth and beauty, goodness and unity. It is like a finger pointing to the moon. It is not the finger that is important, it is the moon." Images * [http://www.e-yakimono.net/assets/images2/JT-oct14-2000-1.jpg Brother Thomas Small lidded vase with celadon glaze, ca. 1980] * The Art Museum Image Consortium Library [http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico160747-71092.html Vase, Flask Form, Hunan Tenmoku, 1988] * Harrison Gallery: An image gallery External links * Ceramics Monthly - December 2006 A Long and Winding Road to Artistic Success by Richard Busch 4.4 MB PDF document * Who's Who: Japanese Ceramic Artists * Boston Phoenix: exhibition review September 2003 * Artist information page at The Harrison Gallery Category:Canadian artists Category:American artists Category:American potters Category:1929 births Category:2007 deaths Category:People from Erie, Pennsylvania Category:University of Ottawa alumni